Why is it a sin to take drugs?

Tek7 (Legacy)

Tek7 (Legacy)

CGA & ToJ President
After posting my thoughts on caffeine addiction, I came back to a question that has interested me for some time: Why is it a sin to take drugs? In an age marked by an increased use of prescription drugs, the line between "good" drugs and "bad" drugs is being blurred. America has adopted a somewhat hypocritical stance, banning marijuana but promoting the sale of cigarettes to minors. (Before anyone asks, I am firmly against the legalization of marijana for any but medical uses where no alternative solution is available.)

It seems that American morality is largely by corporate interests and politicians. Religious leaders will cry out against gay marriage, but nary a peep is heard from the Western church about the widening gap between the rich and the poor. But, I digress. I'll save my discussion of false consciousness for another thread.

So, back to the question: Why is it a sin to take drugs? Well, one should first define "drugs." I won't take the time to do that here, trusting that we share a collective definition of the word.

I'll cut directly to the answer and may return to discuss any finer points if necessary.

I believe that using any substance to artificially alter one's state of consciousness for any purpose other than medical assistance is a sin. This would include using prescription drugs solely for the side effects, drinking alochol to get drunk, and smoking marijuana to get high.

Thoughts?
 
Well, when you do drugs you damage your body right? Read this Bible verse;

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

16 Do you know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destory him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
 
I prefer the "render unto Caesar" argument. When the laws of the government do not conflict with the laws of God, we are to obey them. If marijuana or other drugs were legalized, I don't think they would be sin. I also don't feel it would be sin if you went to a country where it were legalized and smoked some.

Personally, I think that our current stance on marijuana and tobacco, which is that the latter is legal and the former is not, is hypocritical. I would prefer either both to be legalized and heavily taxed, or for both to be banned.

Marijuana use is very widespread in this country. I think almost everybody knows somebody who has used it. Thus, the dilemma faced with its illegality is the same faced by the prohibition of alcohol. During prohibition, speakeasys kept the liquor flowing just as before, only this time the profits went to organized crime instead of to the government. Moreover, there was no assurance of the purity of the alcohol. According to the History Channel, the government tested all the liquor it confiscated during prohibition, and found that about 80% of it was cut 2:1 or even 3:1 with things that were not fit for human consumption, like paint thinner, or embalming fluid.

The same thing applies to marijuana today. Even if I wasn't a Christian, I wouldn't touch the stuff just because one has no guarantee that you're actually consuming something that won't kill you! If, on the other hand, farming of marijuana was government-regulated, like the farming of tobacco, I think it would protect a lot of people who are determined to try it already.

Basically, there's a lot of positives and negatives that come from both sides of the argument, but whether it's sin... well, I already gave my reasons why I think it is.
 
hescominsoon said:
this has nothing to do with render unto ceasar. Both tobacco and weed are damaging to your body therefore neither should be taken whether legal or not. The previous post witht he bible verse about treating your body as a temple is spot on.
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I think that both arguments are valid. We're called to obey the law of the land as long as it doesn't contradict God's commandments, and we're also called to treat our bodies with respect.
 
Yeah I agree with the whole "it's not your body" thing. Your body is a temple of God, so are you going to hotbox that temple? Um, no. I don't think God would approve of that. It IS abusing what God has given to you. He created your mind in order to do miraculous things, but NEVER to expand or alter your mind with a foreign substance. People always say "Oh, God put these drugs on earth for us to have, like weed is a plant in which God created, it was meant to be smoked." Wrong. Rationalization. Stupidity.
That's my 2 cents.

*gets dragged away by men in black suits* ....here we go again *sigh*....
 
well, lucky old me over here; i can't smoke cigarettes/cigars due to my allergy standpoint, so i'm not in much danger of defiling myself in that way... except that i'm seriously bombarded by second hand smoke, which i try to avoid in so many ways...

the bad thing for me is: my dad smoked a joint or two back in college, and up until a couple of years ago was not just any drinker, THE drunkard... so unfortunately i have to work overtime to avoid those..... (stupid genetics).

i've never heard anybody say that God put the stuff here for us to smoke it... and that's totally insane to think something that illogical.

you want to hear about damage to the body from cigarettes? i had asthma around five, and ever since i have really horrible breathing problems. i don't think it's come down to a deadly disease, but i'm actually so afraid of smokers if there is a way to run for my lungs' sake; i will take it. i bet my lungs have black splotches already, and i'm only 15 years old -_-
in fact, i went to a themepark and started counting the steps i took between each cloud of smoke i walked through because there were so many... it came out around ten steps between each lit up cigarette
 
People always say "Oh, God put these drugs on earth for us to have, like weed is a plant in which God created, it was meant to be smoked." Wrong. Rationalization. Stupidity.That's my 2 cents.
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But what about drugs that are helpful? Caffeine can cure headaches.

Gen
 
doesn't it also cause headaches when you've been addicted and stop drinking suddenly???
remember that all drugs are a poison in some way, but if taken in the right way in the right amount, they are actually helpful...
hence, you take like 10 advil in one second and you will surely harm yourself if not die altogether, but if you take 1 or 2 within the whole day for a pain, you are cured of that pain.
 
I'm inclined to agree with Kraniaks point of view.. Not out of fear, however, over the consequence of the alternative.. Did not Jesus pronounce all things clean, and taken in moderation, they are!

I don't do drugs, anymore.. But I do smoke cigarretes, still. Case in point.. I trust in God to "cause me to walk in His Righteousness for His names sake" I profess the name of JESUS, ego, HE is now responsable for my actions.. Did He not die for me, yea, was He not raised to LIFE fo me! :cool:

Jesus Lives in me now.. And sanctification is a process..

The world will go from bad to worse, but I go from Glory to Glory in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Would you accuse me of sin?
 
I appreciate your view point Zeena, but I don't feel comfortable with your quote of scripture. God will lead you to righteousness, but you have to be listening for his promptings. That may be directly from God, from other Christians, or from the Bible. A lot of times our own fleshly desires get in the way of listening to God's different voices.
A personal example from my life is tatooing. I got a tatoo at a time in my life when I was in rebellion against God. A couple years later, I was thinking about getting another. I really wanted it, but I talked to a fellow Christian that I trusted beforehand. She let me know, that she felt it would be the wrong choice and told me why, and I decided to wait if for no other reason, I had no peace about it either way.
With the whole issue of doing illegal drugs, smoking, and/or drinking, my opinion is that none of those things glorify God. Illegal drugs go against scripture to obey the laws of the land, and smoking and drinking goes against 1 Corinthians 8:13 "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." We may have the freedom to do them, but they may cause a brother or sister to stumble if we do.
 
Both tobacco and weed are damaging to your body therefore neither should be taken whether legal or not.
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I thought about that for a long while, but the reason that I couldn't make that argument in the end, is because I'm not sure whether it's possible to put everything into either a HEALTHY or NOT HEALTHY column. For instance, wouldn't eating a lot of McDonald's value meals be considered unhealthy? The documentary Super Size Me illustrated that a diet of only McDonald's food can cause cirrhosis of the liver. And what about prime rib? It's incredibly artery-clogging, but it's still viable food.

One could make the argument that unhealthy food is still permissible, because it still fulfills one of our bodies' basic needs (food), but I'm not convinced that that is the case. Eating poorly can be more damaging to your health than excessive smoking and drinking.

And furthermore, what about not excercising? Is that a sin? I'm not sure. How much physical fitness does God require of us?

The Render Unto Caesar argument bypasses all of these difficulties and gives us a clearcut example of when taking drugs is wrong. Certainly, it could be wrong other times, but it is a good reason why it shouldn't be morally acceptable to take drugs in a society that has outlawed them.

__________


Stepping back from that specific train of thought and viewing the big picture again, I was flipping around in the Bible, looking for these two verses that came to mind that, in my opinion, are very applicable to this issue:

I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Romans 14:14-23
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All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness.”
If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake. But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake; for “the earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness.” “Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience? But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks?
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 10:23-33
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I find it quite comical that someone who calls themself "Not Ashamed" would be ashamed of me, in Christ.. :eek:

When did my smoking cause you to stumble brother?



My body too, shall wait in hope :)
 
How would one reckon the following verses with a Christian "doing drugs"

Romans 12
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Gen
 
well, not only do i personally think it's HORRIBLE to use anything with any type of drug in it for non-medical purposes, God KNOWS it's horrible.

think about this: my grandmother died of a lung disease... she smoked.

also, my stepdad (the one who i cared for more than this one) also died of a lung disease (his was worse...)... he smoked.

my father DROPPED out of college because he USED DRUGS a few times, using thirty years of his life after that for mechanic jobs that have low pay, and now he has to work hard to study for college AT THE AGE OF 56 because of what he did back then. he also drank, which got him a divorce to my mom, gave her a broken nose, and influenced him to kick his own daughter out of his house WHILE I WAS THERE (and i remember it as it went, he on the other hand claims she abandoned him...)

my (second) stepdad had a cousin (or some relative like that) who used drugs for a long time (had a meth lab). he is currently in MAJOR trouble, running from the law, and he has turned into a total psycho.

people in my family who used to drink often (dad and 2nd stepdad) are very angry people because of all the anger they got while drunk, still living inside them.

is that enough examples to tell you how bad this is? =D
 
I am not going to quote statistics on smoking. They have already been mentioned. I read through the link on references to the word smoke in the Bible and came upon 3 different types of smoking

1. Offerings to the Lord (from the Altar)
2. The Lord destroying a city (or some other destruction to a place)
3. A plague in Revelation

A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.
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That is the only reference I was able to find that said anything about smoke coming out of ones mouth. And this brought plagues.

The other thing is...pagan cultures believe that the smoke that is exhaled carries prayers to the great spirit.

gen
 
I have thought about that oh so much!! Not on just a spiritual standpoint but also from a follower of christ standpoint> My doc gave me some tylenol 3 and it has codeine in it hmm is it wrong does it harm the spirit within me? I think not and with that I think the world is goofy ok ok Duh!!!! Jesus made wine for his students yet dis's drunks hmmm to me now this is only me but I see limits not the total absense of what God has put before thee... I can't blame satan for the creation of anything that is before you because he has not the skillz to create only to mislead>>>
 
Amicus Dei of [FoG] said:
is that enough examples to tell you how bad this is? =D
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And what good did that do?

Were you trying to scare me stiff?
Don't you know, havn't you heard, has not my mouth confessed that I already died with Christ?
Christ now Lives in me!

Constructive criticism people!
 
I believe the use of mind-altering drugs is Biblically wrong.
The reason for this is because they are a false Jesus.
People use these drugs to escape life. They may think that their life is pretty good, but the fact that they want to get high denies this.
What these drugs do is send your mind to a 'different plane of exsistence' if you will. These people want something better than what they have. They want to 'soar with the angels'.
The reason I call these drugs a 'false Jesus' is that as Christians whenever we have a problem or troubles we can go to Jesus and the Bible and find encouragment for us. We can get 'high' on Jesus, if you will pardon the phrase. When you take drugs you attempt to get the 'high' without the Jesus.


Did that make any sense or did I just ramble on and not make a point?
 
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